Michel Cournoyer

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in US ($600 weekly by UI) – Extension would support millions of workers: See updated state unemployment data | Economic Policy Institute

As of last week, DOL reported that over 15 million workers across 48 states and the District of Columbia are receiving or waiting on a decision for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, which underscores the importance of extending benefits to those who would otherwise not have been eligible. Five states have at least a million … Continue reading →

COVID in US and Job Training – How does it matter ? (video)

Job Report in Canada (June 2020) – Employment increased by a further 953,000 (+5.8%), reaching a level 9.2% lower than in February

Building on an initial recovery of 290,000 in May, employment rose by nearly one million in June (+953,000; +5.8%), with gains split between full-time work (+488,000 or +3.5%) and part-time work (+465,000 or +17.9%). With these two consecutive increases, employment in June was 1.8 million (-9.2%) lower than in February. Employment continues to rebound as … Continue reading →

L’emploi au Québec, juin 2020 – Retour à 92,2 % de son niveau observé en février

Le Québec a enregistré une hausse d’emploi de 248 000 (+6,5 %) en juin. Cette hausse s’ajoute à l’augmentation semblable (+231 000) observée en mai, rapprochant l’emploi à 92,2 % de son niveau observé en février. [Voir la NDLR à la fin du post] Parallèlement, le nombre de personnes en chômage dans la province a reculé pour un deuxième mois consécutif en … Continue reading →

Covid and Unemployment in Canada – Changes to EI system coming

Government officials admit there will still need to be policy changes to the EI system to help some self-employed workers qualify, and capture EI-eligible workers who, due to the pandemic, haven’t been able to work the necessary qualifying hours. “It’s not easy. We’re in challenging times,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters. “We’re going to … Continue reading →

Employment Outlook 2020 – Unemployment will remain high into 2021, more so should a second pandemic wave hit says OECD

Unemployment is projected to reach nearly 10% in OECD countries by the end of 2020, up from 5.3% at year-end 2019, and to go as high as 12% should a second pandemic wave hit. A jobs recovery is not expected until after 2021. And now must keep up support while building resilience Help those in … Continue reading →

COVID and Public Employment Services (PES) – Need to be agile, quickly adapt to the new situation and adjust their response frequently and flexibly to respond to unpredictable developments

Strengthening labour market resilience also requires stronger institutional capacity to scale up key measures quickly, while maintaining service quality. This implies that when a crisis hit, the policy infrastructure should already be in place and can be scaled up quickly. Evidence suggests that implementation and delivery failures during the COVID-19 crisis were more common where … Continue reading →

Basic Income in Canada – A guaranteed 18 329 $ would cost up to $96.4 billion in 6 months, excluding behavioral reactions

A parliamentarian requested that the PBO estimate the cost of a guaranteed basic income (GBI) program to ensure all Canadians between 18 and 64 have income of at least 75% of the Low-Income Measure (LIM; $24,439 for an individual and $34,562 for a couple) for the last six months of the fiscal year 2020-21. The … Continue reading →

Europass / Erasmus – Une plateforme pour la gestion des compétences

D’abord simple Europass Formation distribué sous forme papier à l’issu d’une mobilité européenne, puis combinaison de 5 documents, Europass continue d’évoluer et devient une plateforme pour la gestion des compétences et des carrières à partir du 1er juillet. A l’ère de LinkedIn et de l’approche « compétence », Europass se devait de continuer d’évoluer. Les … Continue reading →

UI Claims in US (week ending June 27) – 1,427,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level

In the week ending June 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,427,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 1,480,000 to 1,482,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,503,750, a decrease of 117,500 from the previous week’s revised average. … Continue reading →

Job Report in US (June 2020) – Employment rose by 4.8 million, still down nearly 14.7 million jobs since February, and unemployment rate declined to 11.1 percent

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4.8 million in June, and the unemployment rate declined to 11.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflected the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts … Continue reading →

Automation in Canada – 10.6% of workers were at high risk in 2016, while 29.1% were at moderate risk

The recent development of several artificial intelligence applications—such as driverless vehicles, robo-writers and computer-aided medical diagnostics—has led to concerns about the role of human workers in the future workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to these concerns, as businesses may turn to new artificial intelligence technologies to perform work activities not traditionally regarded as automatable, … Continue reading →

COVID and Unemployment in US – Those without a college degree have experienced the most severe impact

Since COVID-19 hit the United States, more than 20 million American workers have become unemployed and countless others have left the labor force altogether. While the labor market disruptions have affected workers in a wide set of industries and occupations, those without a college degree have experienced the most severe impact. Addressing gaps in educational … Continue reading →

May Job Report in US – 32.5 million workers who are either officially unemployed or otherwise out of work as a result of the virus

Key takeaways: In May, the official unemployment rate was 13.3%. However, the unemployment rate that takes into account all those who are out of work as a result of the virus was 19.7%, and the unemployment rate that includes only those who are out of work and don’t have a reasonable chance of being called … Continue reading →

La formation en Europe – Depuis 2005, l’effort des entreprises est en croissance et les pratiques se diversifient

Depuis 2005, l’effort de formation des entreprises européennes est en croissance et les pratiques se diversifient. Les entreprises françaises, initialement parmi les plus formatrices, font preuve d’une grande stabilité dans le temps, conservant un modèle prédominant fondé sur les cours et les stages. La loi Avenir professionnel, impulsant de nouvelles pratiques d’entreprises, pourrait faciliter le … Continue reading →